Sumter 01

The Sumter 01 school district in South Carolina serves approximately 13,000 students across 24 schools—15 elementary, 6 middle, and 3 high schools—and currently ranks in the bottom 15% of districts statewide with a 1-star rating, though performance varies dramatically from school to school.

For parents, the standout choice in the district is clearly Alice Drive Elementary, which ranks in the 81st percentile statewide with a 4-star rating and achieves 70% proficiency in 4th grade math—nearly double the district average of 35.8%. The next best elementary options are Millwood Elementary (39th percentile) and Wilder Elementary (33rd percentile). At the middle school level, Alice Drive Middle leads the pack, with a perfect 100% proficiency rate on the Algebra 1 EOCEP exam. For high school, Sumter High School is the strongest option, boasting the district's highest graduation rate at 83.6% and lowest dropout rate at 1.3%. Meanwhile, Lakewood High has shown dramatic improvement, jumping from the 4th to 28th percentile over three years, though it still struggles with the district's highest chronic absenteeism rate at 43.9%.

The district's most pressing issue is chronic absenteeism, which averages 35.9%—13.6 points above the state average. Schools like Willow Drive Elementary (52.8%) and Chestnut Oaks Middle (46.4%) face severe attendance challenges that correlate with low performance. Mathematics is a systemic weakness, with district scores lagging state averages by 15-25 points across most grades. Notably, spending does not predict success—Rafting Creek Elementary spends the most per student ($20,108) yet ranks in the 1st percentile, while High Hills Elementary spends the least ($11,449) and outperforms many higher-spending schools. The elementary-to-middle school transition is a critical failure point, with math proficiency declining sharply, suggesting the district needs to focus on middle school math instruction and attendance interventions to improve overall outcomes.